Global efforts insufficient, says Yemen minister

The international community’s efforts have not been sufficient to overcome the cause of the disaster that has befallen Yemen, the country’s human rights minister said.

Mohammed Mohsen Askar was speaking at the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The actions of the Iran-backed Houthi militias are “the main reason for all the tragedies that Yemen is going through, and what the Yemenis and the region are paying for,” he said.

Human rights reports by Yemen’s internationally recognized government “did not receive the attention of the office of the (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights,” Askar added. The government seeks “political negotiations in order to find a peaceful solution to end the (Houthi) coup and achieve peace and development in Yemen,” he said.

“Yemen needs support, technical assistance and capacity building so the government can fulfil its human rights obligations,” he added.

Earlier, Murad Al-Gharati, head of Tamkeen Development Foundation, said that the silence of the international community regarding Houthi violations and the refusal to abide by international resolutions encouraged it to continue committing crimes, besieging cities and intercepting relief materials to use them in its war against innocent Yemenis, which meant “killing them twice, by stealing relief, and by using the revenues generated from selling it for buying bullets.”